Browsing by Subject "förebygga"

Aim. The main purpose of this qualitative study is to learn about classroom teachers’ preventive work with mental health problems in students and what challenges come with it. Furthermore, the study aims to highlight the importance of preventing mental health problems in children at an early stage. About half of all cases of mental health problems begin before the age of 14, which justifies the importance of preventing mental health problems at an early stage. The purpose of the study is further motivated by the enormous shortage of school psychologists and curators both in Swedish-speaking schools and nationally. The study examines classroom teachers’ experiences of preventive work on mental health problems in students, because they spend a lot of time with their students and thus have the opportunity to make a difference. Previous research highlights that, among other things, creating various protecting factors can effectively prevent mental health problems. Methods. Materials for the study were collected through individual interviews and the entire study was based on a phenomenographic methodological approach. A total of six classroom teachers working in grades 1-6 were interviewed. To delimit the sample, classroom teachers working in Swedish-speaking schools were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to a phenomenographic methodological approach and based on the research questions. Results and conclusions. All classroom teachers experienced an increase in mental health problems among students during the years they worked as teachers. This is in line with research and confirms the importance of preventive work on mental health problems. The teachers who participated in the study worked mainly preventively by identifying risk factors and creating protective factors against mental health problems. The most common protective factors turned out to be to create safety in the school through routines and rules and to strengthen self-esteem and self-efficacy, for example through positive pedagogy. Two of the most important qualities of teachers were experiences as being responsive and consistent. The teachers felt that they had a responsibility to prevent mental health problems in students together with other adults in the students’ environment, but they did not feel that they have the primary responsibility. The teachers also experienced that the role of teachers has changed and contains more responsibility than before. The main challenges in preventing mental health problems were perceived to be lack of time and resources.